Houston Trip Part II

Before going to Houston, I had such fun making the first Button Buddy that I had to make another. This one is all done in plastic buttons and although I gave it to Gianni, she has left here for safe keeping.

The other picture is a few things I picked up on the way home from Houston at an antique/junk mall in Nagadoches, Texas. I probably did not spell that right. It was a very good mall and held lots of treasures, but the coffers were low after the IQF show.

I could not leave this young man without any relatives. You know you find lots of sweet little girl pictures in books to use for images, but little boys seem to be rarer unless they look like Lil Lord Fontleroy. The 2 small crochet pieces may work on those candlestick pincushions I hope to make in the near future. They will be put on the top to cover where the seams come together.

The sweetest little vase in green was too cute to resist. Sorry, Pat it is in my kitchen window with my other green objects. Maybe I will show that in a future post.

Friday Playdate Update

Some of you may have read the post a couple of weeks ago when I took a day off and went to visit my friend Pat. Now I don't work, all I normally do is play, babysit some, read and do stuff in my studio, so taking a day off is not quite right.

Pat and I visited for a while then we decided to go out and eat lunch. There is the neatest flea market where Pat lives that has a variety things. I am always jealous of what she finds there to do her work with, so off we went. You know friends should share their sources and their bounty sometimes.

These are the pictures of a few of the wonderful things I found. At the top are 2 beautiful floral handkerchiefs. Hankies take me back to the days of my grandmother and my aunts. They never used "tissue" and a lady always had a hankie with her for any emergency.

Don't you love the second picture of the wonderful leaves and rose? The colors are so vibrant and these are soft. They are definitely going into a future media project or a crazy quilt, which I have been wanting to do again. The other picture is - I think- they used to call them candy dishes, not sure if that is right - you sure weren't generous with you candy if that is what you offered. Anyway, I remember my Mother had one and I loved the little wagaon with the horse pulling the wagon.

This last picture is some cut up hexagon quilt blocks. The dealer either cut up a very bad Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt or she bought it in pieces. Pat got some of these too, so we will probably do something with them in one of our "old fabric" creations. I also got an old Needlework and Crafts book with an article about buttons and trims and there was an old single volume of an encyclopedia from 1937. Pat got a copy of another book in the set. We loved the artwork on the cover. Not sure what to do with it but it begs to be used with its yellowed pages.

Pat and I had an enjoyable day and plan on having many more to come in 2009.

I hope that everyone has a creative and happy New Year too. Just remember to "have fun"

Houston Trip Over

I am combining my Friday and Saturday time in Houston to one post because I don't want my readers to fall asleep and be totally bored.

This bag is my Friday half-day class taught by Jenny Rayment from the U.K. She is funny, fast paced and totally organized. This was a whole day class that she taught us in 3 hours and almost everyone got the bag done, even me!! It is a small elegant tote bag and is so fun to make.

Friday afternoon it was my time to begin shopping. Now with all the vendors there you can spend a bundle - unless you get organized and pace yourself. My object was to look for those things I could not buy locally at home and I would have to pay shipping to get them to Arkansas. This is a picture of some of the wonderful beads, threads and other things to work on in the upcoming year. Angelina fibers, Angelina film, Lutradur, TAP, beads and some variegated threads. My friends Jim and Tom encouraged me to be creative and get "out of the box". Tom recommended Sharon Schamber products (http://www.sharonschambernetwork.com/)

to help me get free with my machine quilting and to make it easier. She should know what works with her Best of Show win at Houston. Pictures DO NOT give the quilt true justice.

I purposely made a picture of the bowl of beads - actually "bead soup" The artist who create these ideas are so generous in sharing their ideas. Quilting Arts magazine had a "Make -It University", which I did not attend, but during the day they would have different artist from their magazine demonstrating their articles or books. During the week
I had the opportunity to meet a few of them. One of these artist Frances Holliday Alford shared her love of "bead soup" with me. You can find her Christmas wreaths Quilting Arts Gifts magazine Holiday 2008-09. Thank you Frances for you assistance.

I hope you have had fun on this trip with me to Houston. Maybe you will get to go someday too. But if not there is so much out there to play with and even in your own back yard. That is where these artist sometimes got their start. So "have fun" - you know it is never too late.

Searching for Treasures

One of my favorite things to do is to search for treasures. Friday I took a break from Gianni (her Daddy was in charge on Friday) and went to look for treasures. I took my friend Kathy. We love to check out the Goodwill and there is a place called Savers, which has bargains. On the way we saw a sign that said Garage Sale. Being a rainy day there weren't many and not many people out. Above is what I found at the garage sale. A purse, which is always a good thing. Now let me explain the bug picture. It is Kathy's fault. It is a Green Nymph Stick Insect. Now the plan is to take this apart and put insect buttons around it. I hope it doesn't come alive when I open it - kind of scary. And the quilt is a wonderful lap quilt. It was made for someone by their aunt and they were selling it. On the back it says:

To: Name ( I won't publish it)

From: Name (ditto)

"A heart full of love

And wings on which to fly"

May 20, 2006

The colors are bright reds, pinks and the back is a batik. It appears that some of the reds have faded onto the whites, but it is still a wonderful little orphan quilt that now has a home. It makes me wonder what will happen to the quilts I make years from now. Sold in a yard sale?? Oh well - you have to look at how much enjoyment you got out of giving the gift -not the final home of the gift.

We found a lot more treasures that day and I will share them later. Don't want anyone to go to sleep while reading my post you know.